Aglycon diversity of brain sterylglucosides: structure determination of cholesteryl- and sitosterylglucoside.

To date, sterylglucosides have been reported to be present in various fungi, plants, and animals. In bacteria, such as Helicobacter pylori, proton NMR spectral analysis of isolated 1-O-cholesteryl-β-d-glucopyranoside (GlcChol) demonstrated the presence of an α-glucosidic linkage. By contrast, in animals, no detailed structural analysis of GlcChol has been reported, in part because animal-derived samples contain a high abundance of glucosylceramides (GlcCers)/galactosylceramides, which exhibit highly similar chromatographic behavior to GlcChol.

Transumbilical arterial embolization of a large dural arteriovenous fistula in a low-birth-weight neonate with congestive heart failure.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report transumbilical arterial embolization of a large dural arteriovenous fistula (AVF) in a low-birth-weight neonate with congestive heart failure (CHF).

Case Presentation: A female neonate was delivered by cesarean section at 31 weeks of gestation. Her birth weight was 1538 g and Apgar scores were 6 at both 1 and 5 min.

Improved method of phosphopeptides enrichment using biphasic phosphate-binding tag/C18 tip for versatile analysis of phosphorylation dynamics.

A number of factors including low stoichiometry of phosphorylation, ion suppression, and reduced peptide backbone fragmentation interfere with precise identification of proteins in phosphoproteomic analysis by MS. Therefore, enrichment of phosphopeptides is an important process for subsequent mass spectrometric analysis. Here, we have developed a simple and efficient method for phosphopeptides enrichment, which employs a biphasic phosphate-binding tag (Phos-tag)/C18 tip consisting of overlaid Phos-tag on the C18 resin in a pipet tip.

Distinction of sialyl anomers on ESI- and FAB-MS/MS: stereo-specific fragmentations.

An anomeric pair of the lysoglyceroganglioside 1-O-octadecyl-3-O-(N-acetyl)neuraminyl-sn-glycerol sodium salt was studied to see if sialic anomers were distinguishable by mass spectra. It was evident that, in the electrospray ionization and fast-atom bombardment product-ion spectra: (1) in the positive MS(2) product-ion spectrum, the beta- anomer showed an unexpected aglycone-side sodiated sodium alkoxide ion, which was absent for the alpha-anomer; (2) in both polarities the beta-anomer showed dehydration much more easily than the alpha-anomer; and (3) in the negative MS(2) product-ion spectrum, the beta-anomer also readily showed decarboxylation. Our hypothesis is that, although several easily interconvertible conformations may be allowed, the one having the large aglycone in the equatorial orientation affects the collision-induced dissociation fragmentations.

Dexmedetomidine exerts dose-dependent age-independent antinociception but age-dependent hypnosis in Fischer rats.

Dexmedetomidine (Dex), an alpha(2)-adrenoceptor agonist, is an effective analgesic and sedative drug in adults; however, little information is available about its efficacy in pediatric populations. Some anesthetics exhibit an age-dependent analgesic effect, e.g.

RNA degradation in human breast tissue after surgical removal: a time-course study.

There is much interest in the study of human malignancy using gene expression profiling techniques. Expression profiles obtained from microarrays utilize RNA extracted from the tissue in question. Currently, cell cultures or fresh tissue processed "quickly" are used in these studies.

Analysis of sugar epimers using mass spectrometry: N-acetyllactosamine-6,6'-disulfate and the 2'-epimer.

Galbeta1-4GlcNAc-6,6'-disulfate and 2'-epimer corresponding to Galbeta1- 4ManNAc-6,6'-disulfate were distinguished by mass spectrometry by utilizing fast atom bombardment (FAB), electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) methods. As for the steric information, negative-ion ESI mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (MS/MS) provides the most extensive data, but FAB MS/MS also reveals detailed structural information of interest in our case, where MALDI MS is not yet fully equipped with post-source decay.

Ubiquinol cytochrome c reductase (UQCRFS1) gene amplification in primary breast cancer core biopsy samples.

Objectives: The ubiquinol cytochrome c reductase UQCRFS1 is a key subunit of the cytochrome bc1 complex (complex III) of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the significance of the ubiquinol cytochrome c reductase UQCRFS1 gene amplification in primary breast cancers.

Methods: Samples were obtained from image-guided core needle biopsies (CNB) in 40 patients with nontreated breast cancers.

Brain stem opioidergic and GABAergic neurons mediate the antinociceptive effect of nitrous oxide in Fischer rats.

Background: Recent studies have revealed that N2O exerts its antinociceptive effect by inducing opioid peptide release in the brain stem, thereby activating the descending noradrenergic inhibitory neurons, which modulate pain processing in the spinal cord. However, the precise neuronal pathways that mediate these events remain to be determined.

Methods: Using immunohistochemical and behavioral techniques in adult male Fischer rats, the authors studied the involvement of brain stem opioidergic and gamma-aminobutyric acid-mediated (GABAergic) neurons in the N2O-induced antinociceptive effect using discrete microinjections of an opioid receptor antagonist or GABAergic activator into the periaqueductal gray area and pontine noradrenergic nuclei.

Diet and lung cancer risk from a 14-year population-based prospective study in Japan: with special reference to fish consumption.

N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish oil exhibit a variety of health benefits, and there is evidence that they can inhibit the development of human lung mucoepidermoid and other carcinomas. To examine the hypothesis that fish consumption reduces the risk of lung cancer, we conducted a population-based prospective study, following 5,885 residents for 14 yr. Person-years were used to calculate the relative risk (RR) by the Cox proportional hazards model, with adjustment for potential confounding factors.

GABAergic interneurons at supraspinal and spinal levels differentially modulate the antinociceptive effect of nitrous oxide in Fischer rats.

Background: The study hypothesizes that nitrous oxide (N(2)O) releases opioid peptide in the brain stem, which results in inhibition of gamma-aminobutyric acid-mediated (GABAergic) neurons that tonically inhibit the descending noradrenergic inhibitory neurons (DNIN), resulting in activation of DNIN. In the spinal cord, activation of DNIN leads to the release of norepinephrine, which inhibits nociceptive processing through direct activation of alpha2 adrenoceptor and indirect activation of GABAergic neurons through alpha1 adrenoceptor. Arising from this hypothesis, it follows that GABAergic neurons will modulate the antinociceptive effect of N(2)O in diametrically opposite directions at supraspinal and spinal levels.

Evidence for the involvement of spinal cord alpha1 adrenoceptors in nitrous oxide-induced antinociceptive effects in Fischer rats.

Background: In a previous study, the authors found that nitrous oxide (N2O) exposure induces c-Fos (an immunohistochemical marker of neuronal activation) in spinal cord gamma-aminobutyric acid-mediated (GABAergic) neurons in Fischer rats. In this study, the authors sought evidence for the involvement of alpha1 adrenoceptors in the antinociceptive effect of N2O and in activation of GABAergic neurons in the spinal cord.

Methods: Adult male Fischer rats were injected intraperitoneally with alpha1 adrenoceptor antagonist, alpha2 adrenoceptor antagonist, opioid receptor antagonist, or serotonin receptor antagonist and, 15 min later, were exposed to either air (control) or 75% N2O.

Nitrous oxide exerts age-dependent antinociceptive effects in Fischer rats.

Nitrous oxide (N(2)O) is an inhalational anesthetic/analgesic gas that has been used for clinical practice for more than a century. While its anesthetic mechanisms remain largely unknown, the underlying analgesic mechanisms are now being unraveled. It has been proposed that N(2)O induces opioid peptide release in the midbrain, leading to the activation of descending noradrenergic inhibitory neurons, which modulates pain processing within the spinal cord.

Fetal gender determination in early pregnancy through qualitative and quantitative analysis of fetal DNA in maternal serum.

Fetal DNA in maternal plasma and serum has been shown to be a useful material for fetal gender determination and for screening tests for abnormal pregnancies except during early gestational ages. Maternal serum samples were obtained from 81 pregnant women during the 5th-10th weeks of gestation. Fetal gender was determined by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect a Y-chromosomal sequence (DYS14) in maternal serum during early gestation and confirmed by examination of the newborns after delivery.